Americans are increasingly confused by the tone of the debate, in which self-appointed spokesmen for illegal aliens and indeed, on occasion, illegal aliens themselves seem so critical of policies embraced by 70% of the American populace of all classes and races that they so eagerly wish to join. In cases of the May Day parades, why would alien demonstrators appear so critical of the country (or at least its law) that they so desperately wish to stay in, and so fond and romantic about the country that they so desperately wish to leave? It all makes little or no sense, other than the emotional anger at the paradox of wanting to be in a lawful America without being lawful. Even if the Mexican flag is a symbol of ethnic solidarity, in the manner of the Italian flag for a few east coast communities, it nevertheless conveys the message of romance for a nation that by all accounts has treated its own quite poorly. And when we get to the purported racialist charges against supporters of closed borders, it all becomes Orwellian, given that Mexico’s ruling elite is as about as racist a government as one can imagine—a Spanish heritage aristocracy glad to see its own indigenous peoples fleeing northward while charging their receptive host with racism.

Thirty-six years ago this month, Turkey invaded the tiny nation of Cyprus, killing thousands and forcing 200,000 Greek-Cypriots from their homes before establishing a military occupation of the northern third of the island.

Armed with U.S.-supplied weapons (sold to Turkey on the condition they be used for defensive purposes only), Turkey invaded Cyprus on July 20, 1974, under the guise of protecting the Turkish minority (about 18 percent of the population) following an unsuccessful coup against the government of Cyprus by forces loyal to the military junta that governed Greece at the time.

In a matter of days, the 40,000-strong Turkish invasion force drove nearly 200,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes, farms and businesses, turning them into refugees in their own country.

Greece attempted to intervene on behalf of Cyprus, but then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger ordered the U.S. 7th Fleet to blockade the Greek navy with orders to sink the Greek ships if they did not return to their home ports.

A cease-fire was arranged on Aug. 16, 1974, but the damage was done. More than 6,000 Greek-Cypriots were killed by the Turkish troops and another 1,600 (including five American citizens) disappeared behind Turkish lines. Thirty-six years later, there has never been a full accounting by Turkey of what happened to the 1,300 men, 116 women and 133 children caught behind the advancing Turkish army.

Mass graves have been uncovered on parts of the island where civilians were executed by the Turks. Eyewitnesses have testified before investigative commissions of the systematic rape, torture and execution of Cypriot civilians, including children, the edlerly and the disabled.

The Turkish invasion and continuing violation of human rights in Cyprus has been condemned by every major international body, including the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth of Nations, the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe. Turkey’s entry into the European Union has been rejected because it continues to occupy a current EU member — Cyprus.

Turkey is clearly in violation of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the United Nations Charter and the NATO Treaty.

Fed by billions of dollars in U.S. military and economic aid, Turkey thumbs its nose at international law and U.S. taxpayers. This is the same Turkey that continues to have one of the worst records of human rights violations in the world.

Turkey maintains 35,000 occupation troops (armed and equipped by U.S. tax dollars) on Cyprus to prevent the Greek-Cypriots from returning to their homes. It has ignored dozens of U.N. resolutions condemning the invastion and calling for withdrawal of all Turkish troops as a prelude for unification of the island.

As long as U.S. dollars flow into Turkish coffers, there is no incentive for Turkey to leave Cyprus.

Of all the recent revelations to come out of JournoList, an e-mail list consisting of about 400 liberal/left journalists, perhaps the most telling is the depth of their hatred for conservatives. That these journalists would consult with one another in order to protect candidate and then President Obama and in order to hurt Republicans is unfortunate and ugly. What is jolting is the hatred of conservatives on display, as exemplified by the e-mail from a public-radio reporter expressing her wish to personally see Rush Limbaugh die a painful death — and the apparent absence of any objection from her fellow liberal journalists.

According to Palestinian Media Watch, the ‘Palestinian’ daily al-Ayyam admitted on May 13 that “the Arabs who became refugees in 1948 were not expelled by Israel but left on their own to facilitate the destruction of Israel…. This plan to leave Israel was initiated by the Arab states fighting Israel, who promised the people they would be able to return to their homes in a few days once Israel was defeated. The article in Al-Ayyam concludes that these Arab states are responsible for the Arab refugee problem.” So why haven’t you read this in the New York Times? Because this is yet another instance of the ‘Palestinians’ telling their ‘people’ one thing in Arabic and the world a different thing in English. In English, the ‘Palestinians’ continue to blame Israel for creating the ‘refugee’ problem.

Almost 5 million California adults say they could use help with a mental or emotional problem, according to a survey released Wednesday by researchers at UCLA. About 1 million of them meet the criteria for “serious psychological distress.”

“The immense patches of surface oil that covered thousands of square miles of the gulf after the April 20 oil rig explosion are largely gone, though there continue to be sightings of tar balls and emulsified oil here and there.”